IT'S NOW HIP TO CLIP



Blake Chris and Chauncey will try to change the Clippers history



WHILE THE BANDWAGON FILLS UP, THIS LONGTIME CLIPPERS FAN WARNS EVERYONE TO PROCEED WITH CAUTION

The NBA season has finally begun and all eyes (or most eyes) are on Los Angeles.  And we are not talking about that little team that wears purple and gold and has all the banners and hall of famers.  We are talking the Los Angeles Clippers.  As shocking as it may seem to most, the Clips are the most intriguing team in the league.  Sportscasters, the blogosphere, and pendants have all jumped on the Clipper bandwagon.  And why not?  We have a star in Blake Griffin, an all-star point guard in Chris Paul, veterans in Caron Butler and Chauncey Billips and a young big-man in the making in Deandre Jordan.  Murals have gone up near Staples Center.

As a long-time long-suffering Clippers fan (and there are many who are going to claim this but I along with my son Bryan and Clipper Darrell are probably the only real longtime Clippers fans), I am warning everyone that as wonderful as this may all seem, it is wise to proceed with caution. 

Here are just a few things happened when previous Clipper teams were about to turn the corner:

1986 - Derek Smith blows out his ACL.  Smith, who was only 35 when he died of a heart attack in 1996, was one of the budding stars of the Clips averaging 26 ppg and 8 rebounds.

1988 - Norm Nixon tears his right Achilles playing in a softball game in Central Park

1989 - Danny Manning, who was in the middle of a rookie-of-the-year season, blows out his ACL

1989 – Trying to comeback, Norn Nixon tears his left Achilles on the final day of training camp

1989 - After coming over in a terrific trade (for that stiff Danny Ferry who refused to play for the Clippers), Ron Harper who was averaging nearly 28 ppg blows out his ACL.  Although he spent many more years in the NBA (4 with the Clips) and won rings with the Bulls and Lakers, Harper was never again the “skywalker” player that brought comparisons to Michael Jordon.

2003 - Lamar Odom, who was coming into his own is suspended for failing a drug test.  He ended up playing out the final year of his contact and signed with Miami in the offseason

2007 - Shawn Livingston knee blows up.  In one of the ugliest and heartbreaking moments in team history, the young guard planted his foot, came down awkwardly and was gone from action for two years.  Doctors said they had never seen and injury as horrific as this before.

As bad as those instances were, maybe the one that brings the closest comparison to this season is 2002-03 season.  First, let’s go back to the previous year.  The Clippers fielded their most exciting team up to that point.  They acquired Elton Brand from the Bulls.  They also traded for Corey Maggette.  They drafted Keyon Dooling, Quinten Richardson and one of the prizes of the draft – high school phenom Darius Miles.  Add that to young Lamar Odom, Michael Olawakindi and Jeff McGinnis and the Clippers were really fun to watch.  They had great chemistry and had a real joy of playing.

Prior to the 2002-03 season, everyone agreed that the missing piece that would put the Clips over the top was a top-tier point guard.  And GM Elgin Baylor did just that.  He traded the very popular Darius Miles to Cleveland for Andre Miller.  As much as I hated to lose Darius (much the same way I felt about losing Eric Gordon), I could see this working. Miller was outstanding in Cleveland where he led the league in assists and was generally regarded as one of the best point guards in the league.  He was an L.A. guy, who went to high school at Verbum Dei.  It was a perfect match.  It was ideal.

And then the season started.  And Miller laid a big, fat egg.

It turns out that Miller never wanted to play for the Clippers.  This was not unusual in those days.  But instead of being a professional about it (like Ron Harper who also didn’t want to come here but played great until he blew out is knee.  Or how about Sam Cassell’s wonderful effort in 2006?), Miller mailed in the season and once the season ended, the Clips did not want to pickup his option.  And who could blame them?  He had a chance to lead this young team but instead he infected the locker room of this highly impressionable team.  Marco Jaric, then a rookie out of Europe said of Miller,

 “He told us it doesn’t matter if we play hard or not.  Just look out for yourselves.  Guys like Elton and Corey didn’t listen to him, but some of the other guys did.”

Most Clippers fans (including this one) don’t think much of Miller.  To this day, he still gets booed at Staples.  And he didn’t make matters better for himself with his takedown on Blake Griffin last season that earned him a suspension.  Miller stated, “He gets too much respect.  He ain’t made nobody better.”

Now, I am not trying to bring anyone down.  And I don’t see and Andre Miller situation happening with Chris Paul.  And even if it did, I think Chauncey Billips would nip it in the bud. My point is Clipper fans, we have to wait to see how the season plays out.  As fun as all of this is – and it is a lot of fun seeing all of the attention the Clippers are getting – it’s still a work in progress.

So, enjoy this season.  But let’s not place them in the finals yet.  It’s a long season.  Well, sort of long with 66 games.  Let’s hope the guys stay healthy and keep getting better.  Be cautious.  As you have seen in this posting, strange things have happened to this team before.

MORNING CUP OF COFFEE FOR DECEMBER 18TH 2011

Good morning everyone and welcome to week number thirty-three of Morning Cup of Coffee. Only seven more shopping days until Christmas!

Ok, the weather here in SoCal has been a little schizophrenic the last week.  We had warm weather in the low 80s during the day that dropped to the high 30s at night.  Then we had thunderstorms.  There was frost in parts of Long Beach.  IN LONG BEACH!  It’s the beach!

I don’t get it.

Oh, before we get started, a very Happy Birthday to my nephew Justin Allen

I hope you are all dong well around the country in this week before Christmas.  Our discussion last week centered on this question:

What Does Christmas Mean To You?

I think this time of year brings out the soft spot in all of our hearts.  All of the responses were great, but I really like this one from Mary Ready:

 “Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I have such wonderful memories of Christmas as a child (thank you mom and dad). From going to the train station to pick out a tree - to the home made tree decorations. The smells of all the goodies mom would make. She cooked for days since we usually had anywhere from 30 to 60 people over for Christmas dinner. I keep those memories alive and have created a ton more. I usually have my house decorated, cards out and most my shopping done by Dec 1st so I can enjoy the holidays and not be stressed out. I have several friends I love to get together with thru Dec and we try to take in a play or two. We will go see all the lights and watch all the Christmas shows on TV. But my favorite part is when Mike and I sit in the front room, look at the decorated tree and talk about what this time of year means to us. How blessed we are to have Christ, family and friends. Merry Christmas to all of you and I hope everyone truly knows how blessed they are.” 

Well said, Mary.  Well said…

Ok, now it’s onto today’s topic.  First, the rules:

Rule #1 – Absolutely no politics allowed

Rule #2 – ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICS ALLOWED!

Since most of us are going to be eating big next weekend, let’s take it easy today.  We are going simple with an English muffin or bagel.  For coffee, my wife turned me on to this holiday flavor at Starbucks called Gingerbread Latte. And it is absolutely delicious.  So, take a bite of the muffin or bagel, take a good long sip of the Gingerbread Latte and let’s get started on this eighteenth day of December 2011.

We are going to stay with the Christmas theme.  This was inspired by my sister-in-law Linda Connally.

Part of the sounds of this time of year is Christmas songs.  You walk into a department store and you can hear the songs playing.  You begin humming the tunes and you don’t even realize it.  Now, if you listen to the radio (and some stations around the country change their formats to all-Christmas-music-all-the-time), you would believe there are only about six Christmas songs.  They play the same ones over, and over, and over again.  Then they try to fool you by playing different versions of the same song by different artists.  The other day on the way home, I heard “Santa Baby” by Ertha Kitt, The Ronnettes and Rickie Lee Jones all within the span of 45 minutes.

Of course I am being a little sarcastic.  Actually there are many songs that really capture the season.  Here are a few of my favs (am I too old to use the term favs?)

The Christmas Song – Mel Torme says he wrote this song in twenty minutes and it became a classic once Nat King Cole added his velvet voice.  You can smell the chestnuts roasting on an open fire….

Go Tell it on the Mountain – My mother actually taught me this song.  This is an African-American spiritual that dates back to the end of the Civil War.  You don’t hear this song often, but when it is done right – especially by a gospel choir - it can be simply awesome.

Carol of the Bells – This one means a lot me because back in the day when I was a youngster singing in the school glee club (ok, you guys can all stop laughing – there was a time when I could carry a tune), this was one of the coolest songs to sing. 

Hark! how the bells

sweet silver bells

All seem to say

throw cares away…..

When you hear it, you know it is Christmastime. 

Angels We Have Heard on High – This is one song that for whatever reason I really like to listen to.  This is another song you don’t hear it often, but it is a beautiful piece.  I especially like the Glo-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O-o-o-o-o-O-ri-a, Hosanna in Excelcis!

Christmastime is Here by the Vince Guaraldi Trio – Most of us first heard this in the movie A Charlie Brown Christmas.  The mellow, jazzy arrangement just makes you feel like having a warm cup of hot chocolate (or as you know I prefer – coffee) in front of a crackling fireplace with the tree decorated and all of the wrapped presents….and I think the song title is perfect.

Ok friends, now it your turn.  I know you have a favorite Christmas song.  Is it We Wish You a Merry Christmas?  How about O Come All Ye Faithful?  Perhaps it’s Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmas Time.  Or Joy to the World (not the Three Dog Night version).  Whatever it is, write it down and share with us in this last week before Christmas.  So, take one more bite of the English muffin or bagel, take another long sip of the Gingerbread Latte and start writing.  Well, start humming and then start writing.

Remember that MCOC is now available on my blog INDEPENDENT WRITINGS at http://glenn-wilson.blogspot.com.  Signup to follow the blog and pass it on.

Catch you all on the flipside…..

MORNING CUP OF COFFEE FOR DECEMBER 11TH 2011

Good morning everyone and welcome to week number thirty-two of Morning Cup of Coffee. Only fourteen more shopping days until Christmas!

The weather here in SoCal has been interesting.  The nights have been freezing (by SoCal standards), where it has gone down to the mid-30s.  But the days have been absolutely beautiful with sunshine and clear skies.  It’s a bit warm and un-winter-like, but beautiful none the less.

As some of you may have read via Facebook, our son Bryan graduated from college yesterday and we had such a wonderful time sharing this moment with him.  It was an amazing day and I want to say one more time congratulations Bryan for a job well done.  

Oh, and another congrats to our friend and occasional contributor Suzanne Benet who after two years of unemploymnet has finally landed a job!

Last week we had some fun talking about Christmas movies.  I found it interesting how much these movies meant to people.  I like this posting from Karin Kefalas:

“ I love A Miracle on 34th Street, the original. My closest friend growing up lost her mother when we were 19. This was a movie that we used to watch with her and it is a tradition that I love to share with my kids. It really shows how much family, of any kind means to each of us. Blood is not the only thing that makes family, love and respect is a stronger bond.” 

Beautifully written Karin.

Alright, let’s get to today’s topic.  Let’s get the rules out of the way first:

Rule #1 – Absolutely no politics allowed

Rule #2 – ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICS ALLOWED!

Breakfast this morning is going to be the basic biscuits, gravy eggs and bacon.  For our coffee, let’s have some Sumatra – my favorite dark coffee.  So, take a long sip of the hot Sumatra and let’s get started on this eleventh day of December 2011.

This is the time of year that effects different people in different ways.  For some, Christmas is a joyous time; a time of giving and a time of family.  For others, this is a difficult time.  Especially those who have lost family members and associate this time of year with the loss.

For me, Christmas has always been a fun time.  As a child, our family did not have a whole lot of money, but my parents – especially my mother always tried to provide my brother, sister and I with a nice holiday season (despite that god-awful aluminum tree that we had along with the  requisite color wheel); or 1986 my first as a father; or 2007 – our first after the kids had moved out.  All were special, but if you notice one common thread it is that for me, it always involves family in some way.  It is not about the gifts.  It is about being with the ones that you love and the ones that love you.

So, my question to you is what does this time of year mean to you?  Is it happy?  Is it sad?  Is it stressful or painful.  Let us know.  You are among friends and you will not be criticized. So, take a bite of bacon and take a good long sip of the Sumatra and start sharing your thoughts.  Whatever your feelings are about the holiday season, I guarantee that you will feel better after posting something that is honest and heart-felt. 

Catch you all on the flipside…..

MORNING CUP OF COFFEE FOR DECEMBER 4TH 2011

Good morning everyone and welcome to week number thirty-one of Morning Cup of Coffee,   and welcome to the first Sunday of December.  Only twenty-one days until Christmas!

Things are good here in sunny, windy, chilly SoCal.  Nancy and I are getting ready for one of the proudest days of our lives – our son Bryan graduates from California State University San Bernardino next weekend, so naturally we are very excited about that.  Also, it’s getting close to Christmas, so we are shopping and doing all of that fun stuff.

We had an interesting discussion last week.  Our question was this:

If you were given $1 million and 24 hours to spend it, how would you spend it? And…..you cannot spend it on yourself:

A lot of really great responses, but there were a couple that stood out for me.  This one from Jerry Garrett:

“This would be an easy one for me.  I would make sure my family didn’t have to worry about their future. And all the remaining I would give to my favorite cause which I donate a lot of my spare time to. That would be shriners hospitals for children. There is something that really makes you feel good about helping children that probably would not get help if it wasn’t for the shriners hospitals. When I make the trips to Shreveport hospital its amazing watching the young kids learning how to work there new prosthetic limbs roiling around and playing like they don’t have a care in the world. the burn hospitals are a different story you know they are receiving the best care possible but I can’t walk out of there with a dry eye know a million dollars is not a lot of money in this day and time but it could help a lot of kids who otherwise would not be able to live a normal life.  Glenn thanks for the chance to brag on my second family of shriners

Great posting Jerry.  I first became aware of the Shriner’s back in 19blahblahblah….and they do wonderful work.  I also liked this one from Karen Elzy:

“I would pay off my siblings debt (8 of them). I would open a Mentoring Resource center for our 540,000 children that are in the Los Angeles County Foster Care system. This center would also include parenting classes for parents of these children.”

Excellent, Karen.  Nothing more to add to that.

Alright, let’s get to today’s topic.  Let’s get the rules out of the way first:

Rule #1 – Absolutely no politics allowed

Rule #2 – ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICS ALLOWED!

Breakfast this morning is going to be salmon eggs Benedict – I first had this years ago at DuPar’s Restaurant in Los Angeles.  Mimi’s Café makes a good eggs Benedict.  And for our coffee, let’s have a nice cup of French Roast.  Take a sip of your coffee and let’s get started on this fourth day of December 2011.

It is that time of year when they start showing those sappy, tear-inducing holiday movies.  To be honest, I never cared for them much when I was growing up.  But after becoming a parent I learned to appreciate these flicks.  You know the ones:  It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34^th Street, etc.  Now, I do not get weepy (Nancy takes care of that for our family), but I have learned to like these movies.  Here are my favorites in no particular order:

A Christmas Story – This was a movie that flopped when it was released but has become a classic on DVD and runs on TV marathons every year.  Peter Billingsley stars as a 1930s era kid Ralphie who wishes for a Red Rider BB Gun for Christmas.  This movie is not only funny (it’s actually hilarious), but it influenced many things that came after.  See if you see the similarities between this movie and the 1980s TV show The Wonder Years

It’s a Wonderful Life – Just watched this last night.  Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.  What more do I need to say?  Another movie that did not do great business when it was released, but is now on everyone’s favorite film list.  Above and beyond everything else, this is a life-affirming story.  Everyone has a purpose on this earth.  MERRY CHRISTMAS, OLD BULDING AND LOAN!!

White Christmas – Forget the sentimental and weepy ending.  This movie starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen has some of the best musical moments ever on film.  Heatwave, The Best Things Happen White You’re Dancing, Gee, I Wish I Was Back in the Army are but a few.  Oh yeah, that title song is pretty good too.

Home Alone – I don’t consider this a great movie.  It is slap-shtick, Three Stooges type comedy.  But it is at time pretty funny.  I just remember when we took our kids to see it.  Bryan was maybe three-years old and belly-laughed the entire time.  That was so great…

This Christmas – This movie was released a couple years ago, and I for one think this could be a contemporary classic.  This is an example of the power of family.  One of the stars is the talented (and later convicted felon) Chris Brown.  But if you get past that, it is really a good movie.  It is set in my home town of Los Angeles (hard to imagine a Christmas movie set in L.A. with the year-round sunshine), but it works here because Christmas is all about family.

There are plenty more, but I will leave that up to you.  So, take a bite of the eggs Benedict and a good long sip of that French Roast and start writing.  Remember, it does not have to be one of the regular Christmas movies.  It can be an obscure one.  As long as it meant something to you, that is all that is important.  Have fun with it!

Catch you all on the flipside…..